Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died Tuesday after a long struggle with cancer, the same day the government said he had a respiratory infection and his condition was “delicate.” He was 58. The fiercely un-American president, a friend of communist Cuba and other leftist Latin American governments, was popular in the country he dominated for 14 years, and the elections that returned him to power were generally considered fair. Under the constitution, the country has 30 days to hold a new election, with Vice President Nicolas Maduro taking over in the meantime. Maduro, whom Chavez designated as his preferred successor, is expected to be challenged by Henrique Capriles Radonski, a state governor who ran against Chavez in October.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged to an all-time high Tuesday, shattering a 2007 record by 90 points as it closed at 14,254. The previous record was 14,164, set on Oct. 9, 2007. The spike followed a surge in markets across the globe, apparently responding to news of Chinese growth targets, European retail sales and the U.S. housing recovery. The Dow has more than doubled since reaching a low of 6,547 in March 2009. “Whether they want to admit it or not, everyone is very impressed with the resilience of the market,” said Alec Young, a global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. But the market’s strength is not matched by other economic indicators — chiefly unemployment, which was 4.7 percent when the Dow last peaked but is now at 7.9 percent.

Borrowing a page from the Roman Empire, Saudi Arabia was planning to crucify some people convicted of armed robbery until the executions were postponed for a week. A Saudi security official said Tuesday that the execution of seven people by crucifixion or firing squad was delayed by order of Prince Faisal bin Abdel Aziz while King Abdullah reviews the sentences. The seven accused were juveniles at the time they were arrested as part of a 23-member ring that stole from jewelry stores in 2004 and 2005. They say they were coerced into confessing by torture and denied access to lawyers. “I killed no one,” said Nasser al-Qahtani, now 24. “I didn’t have weapons while robbing the store, but the police tortured me, beat me up and threatened to assault my mother to extract confessions that I had a weapon with me while I was only 15. We don’t deserve death.”

After a week of headlines about a budding bromance with Dennis Rodman, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is back in the news for the usual reasons: New sanctions are being prepared in the U.N., and he’s threatening to cancel the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War. The U.S. has introduced “some of the toughest sanctions imposed by the United Nations,” said U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, and the draft resolution has the backing of China, Pyongyang’s closest ally, and no known opposition. The draft resolution, aimed at punishing the North’s Feb. 12 nuclear test, for the first time targets the illicit activities of diplomats and the country’s illicit banking relationships and illegal transfers, Rice said. As word of the resolution emerged, the North Korean leader threatened to cancel its 60-year-old cease-fire with South Korea, and on Tuesday the Korean People’s Army Supreme Command warned of “surgical strikes” and of a “precision nuclear striking tool.”

They have something better to do? The conclave that will choose the next pope was still not scheduled Tuesday because five voting cardinals had not arrived at the Vatican. The Vatican said nothing was amiss, but observers couldn’t help asking what was keeping them. “It takes as long as it takes,” U.S. Cardinal Daniel Di Nardo told reporters. “No one wants to rush this.” Workers prepared for the conclave Tuesday by closing the Sistine Chapel, where deliberations will take place; it will have a false floor installed to cover anti-bugging devices, and the stove where ballots will be burned must be put in. With 110 of 115 voting-age cardinals present, church officials awaited the arrival of cardinals from Egypt, Germany, Vietnam, Poland and Hong Kong.

Hamas has decreed that no women would be allowed to run in an upcoming Gaza Strip marathon, so the U.N. decreed Tuesday that there would be no marathon. “We don’t want women and men mixing in the same race,” said Gaza’s Cabinet secretary, Abdul-Salam Siam. “We don’t want any woman running uncovered.” Siam said girls could run but not grown women — though none were banned from two previous races, in 2011 and 2012. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency had planned the race for April 10, and 266 Palestinian and 119 foreign women had registered, but it canceled the event when Hamas announced the new rules. Gaza sportswomen met the news with resignation, saying their conservative society had made it hard to train anyway. Noura Shukri, a 15-year-old high school student who ran in the first two races, said: “My dad told me that I’m a pretty woman now, and not a girl anymore, so I can’t run in the streets. It will be a headache for him because people will gossip.”

The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at twitter.com/karl_kahler.

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